Emerson Royal sheds light on his move to Tottenham Hotspur and interest from Atletico Madrid
In conversation with Cadena SER as quoted by Football.London, Tottenham Hotspur wing-back Emerson Royal talked about his move to the Premier League and the interest from Atletico Madrid. The 23-year-old also highlighted the physicality of the game in England.
Royal eventually made the move from Barcelona to Spurs in a deal worth £22.5million before the start of the 2021/22 season. His performances have blown hot and cold ever since arriving at Hotspur Way.
The Brazilian wing-back has become second-fiddle to Matt Doherty recently due to the latter’s impressive performances under Antonio Conte. That being said, Emerson still has his prime years ahead of him and will hopefully refine his skills to a greater extent.
In conversation with Cadena SER as quoted by Football.London, the 23-year-old right-back spoke about the underlying conditions that foreshadowed his move from Blaugrana to the Lilywhites.
“The club was going through a very difficult economic time and there were also good options out there for me, like Tottenham. I helped Barca and Barca helped me go to the best league in the world.”
He also went on to acknowledge the interest from Atletico Madrid. However, the Brazilian played his cards close to his chest, reiterating that he was happy at Spurs, not knowing what the future has in store for him. Los Colchoneros can perhaps do with signing Emerson given Kieran Trippier’s mid-season transfer to Newcastle United.
“Yes, it has come to me that Atletico has been interested in me. But now I’m in a good moment at Tottenham, I don’t know what will happen in the future. I like that the teams are watching my football.”
No ‘royal’ treatment at Tottenham Hotspur
The club has largely managed to turn its season around after the arrival of the Italian manager. We can now see an imprint of his attacking style of play with the wing-back featuring in a more prominent role.
Doherty has now managed to bag two goals and four assists in 20 matches across all competitions under the former Chelsea manager. While these stats may not pop out, the Irish wing-back has started taking up more attacking positions and is becoming a great threat to the opposition defenders in recent matches.
In contrast to this, the former Real Betis player has only managed one goal and one assist in 33 matches across all competitions for the North Londoners in this campaign. While stats regarding goals and assists aren’t the only way to judge a player’s ability and make direct comparisons, they do help to give at least some idea about who is making a tangible impact.
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Adapting to the game in England can always be a tough task for an upcoming young player. This becomes even more stressful due to the constant gaze of the media. That being said, at 23, Royal still has a long way to go in his career and the supporters will be hoping that he can start firing on all cylinders soon.
Conte has a great reputation for bringing the best out in his players and there is no reason why he shouldn’t be able to do the same with the Brazilian right-back, provided he can match up to the standard set by the Italian boss.
